. . . let us not suppose even for an instant that we are not under
constraint. . . . Our former tyrant, King Alcohol, always stands ready
again to clutch us to him. Therefore, freedom from alcohol is the
great "must" that has to be achieved, else we go mad or die.
As Bill Sees It, p. 134

When drinking, I lived in spiritual, emotional, and sometimes, physical
confinement. I had constructed my prison with bars of self-will and
self-indulgence, from which I could not escape. Occasional dry spells
that seemed to promise freedom would turn out to be little more than
hopes of reprieve. True escape required a willingness to follow
whatever right actions were needed to turn the lock. With that
willingness and action, both the lock and the bars themselves opened
for me. Continued willingness and action keep me free--in a kind of
extended daily probation--that need never end.

***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Third, alcoholics recover their proper relationship with other people.
they think less about themselves and more about others. They try to
help other alcoholics. They make new friends so that they're no
longer lonely. They try to live a life of service instead of
selfishness.
All their relationships with other people are improved. They solve
their personality problems by recovering their personal integrity, their
faith in a Higher Power, and their way of fellowship and service to
others. Is my drink problem solved as long as my personality problem
is solved?

Meditation For The Day

All that depresses you, all that you fear, is really powerless to harm
you. These things are but phantoms. So arise from earth's bonds,
from depression, distrust, fear, and all that hinders your new life.
Arise to beauty, joy, peace, and work inspired by love. Rise from
death to life. You do not even need to fear death. All past sins are
forgiven if you live and love and work with God. Let nothing hinder
your new life. Seek to know more and more of that new way of living.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may let God live in me as I work for Him. I pray that I
may go out into the sunlight and work with God.

***********************************************************
As Bill Sees It

The "Slipper"
Needs Understanding, p. 99

"Slips can often be charged to rebellion; some of us are more rebellious
than others. Slips may be due to the illusion that one can be 'cured' of
alcoholism. Slips can also be charged to carelessness and
complacency. Many of us fail to ride out these periods sober. Things
go fine for two or three years--then the member is seen no more. Some
of us suffer extreme guilt because of vices or practices that we can't
or
won't let go of. Too little self-forgiveness and too little
prayer--well,
this combination adds up to slips.

"Then some of us are far more alcohol-damaged than others. Still
others encounter a series of calamities and cannot seem to find the
spiritual resources to meet them. There are those of us who are
physically ill. Others are subject to more or less continuous
exhaustion,
anxiety, and depression. These conditions often play a part in
slips--sometimes they are utterly controlling."

Talk, 1960

***********************************************************

Walk in Dry Places

Understanding Compulsion__Protecting
Sobriety
Often called a "compulsive illness," alcoholism is still a baffling
mystery to most people. All we really know is that a single drink, a
pleasant beverage for many, becomes a deadly trigger for alcoholics.
We may even think it's unfair that we're unable to enjoy the
pleasant customs of social drinking. If we let down our guard, we
can even entertain the thought that we've somehow been cured of the
compulsion to drink.
But we don't have to understand the exact nature of compulsion to
realize that we are victims of it. Bitter experience and the tragic
examples of others should tell us that our compulsion exists and is
activated by the first drink. That's really all the understanding
we need for living successfully in sobriety.
If there's anything we should question, it's not whether we have the
compulsion, but why we would have any doubts after so much bad
experience with alcohol. After all, if we always had a bad reaction
from any other food or beverage, we would soon give it up. Why is
there so much persistence in denying that we are compulsively attached
to alcohol?
We still may be trying to convince ourselves that we can take a drink
safely, and this delusion is another way the compulsion works. All we
have to understand is that a single drink leads to our destruction.
I'll remember today that I've accepted the fact that I am alcoholic and
subject to disaster with a first drink. I'll live today with the
knowledge that I only have to understand that I have a compulsion to
drink.***********************************************************

Keep It Simple

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day a
time. --Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln did great things for the United States. He took life
One
Day at a time.. He broke the future into manageable pieces. We can do
the
same. We can live in the present and focus on the task at hand.
Spirituality comes when we focus this way. When we stay in the present
we
find choice. And we worry less about the future. Still, we must have
goals.
We must plan for the future.
Goals and plans help us give more credit to the present than to the
future. And when we feel good about the present, we feel good about the
future.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me focus. Help me keep my
energy in the present. Have
me live life One Day at a Time.
Action for the Day: When I find myself drifting into the future,
I'll work at bring myself
back to the present.

***********************************************************Each Day a New Beginning

For is it not true that human progress is but a mighty growing pattern
woven together by the tenuous single threads united in a common
effort? --Soong Mei-ling (Madame Chiang Kai-shek)
We each are spinning our individual threads, lending texture, color,
pattern, to the "big design" that is serving us all. Person by person
our actions, our thoughts, our values complement those of our sisters,
those of the entire human race. We are heading toward the same
destination, all of us, and our paths run parallel on occasion,
intersect periodically, and veer off in singleness of purpose when
inspiration calls us.
It's comforting to be reminded that our lives are purposeful. What we
are doing presently, our interactions with other people, our goals,
have an impact that is felt by many others. We are interdependent. Our
behavior is triggering important thoughts and responses in someone
else, consistently and methodically. No one of us is without a
contribution to make. Each one of us is giving what we are called upon
to give when we are in a right relationship with God, who is the master
artist in this design we are creating.
Prayer and meditation will direct my efforts today. My purpose can then
be fulfilled.

Since the home has suffered more than anything else, it is well that a
man exert himself there. He is not likely to get far in any direction
if he fails to show unselfishness and love under his own roof. We know
there are difficult wives and families, but the man who is getting over
alcoholism must remember he did much to make them so.

GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped
this pilot's
wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.

My prison term was followed by three years of probation, which
restricted my travel and had thirteen other conditions. Upon
release from prison, no longer a pilot, I returned to the same
treatment center where I had once been a patient, and worked full-time
with other alcoholics. Pay was minimal, but I found I was
effective at reaching others, and I wanted desperately to pay back some
of what many had given me. I did that for twenty-months.

Neither
could
A.A.
itself
function without full-time workers. At the Foundation* and intergroup
offices, we couldn't employ nonalcoholics as secretaries; we had to
have people who knew the A.A. pitch. But the minute we hired them, the
ultraconservative and fearful ones shrilled, "Professionalism!" At
one period, the status of these faithful servants was almost
unbearable. They weren't asked to speak at A.A. meetings because they
were "making money out of A.A." At times, they were actually shunned by
fellow members. Even the charitably disposed described them as "a
necessary evil." Committees took full advantage of this attitude to
depress their salaries. They could regain some measure of virtue, it
was thought, if they worked for A.A. real cheap. These notions
persisted for years. Then we saw that if a hard working secretary
answered the phone dozens of times a day, listened to twenty wailing
wives, arranged hospitalization and got sponsorship for ten newcomers,
and was gently diplomatic with the irate drunk who complained about the
job she was doing and how she was overpaid, then such a person could
surely not be called a professional A.A. She was not professionalizing
the Twelfth Step; she was just making it possible. She was helping to
give the man coming in the door the break he ought to have. Volunteer
committeemen and assistants could be of great help, but they could not
be expected to carry this load day in and day out.

You
have
to
leave
the
city
of
your comfort and go unto the
wilderness
of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll
discover will be yourself.
--Alan Alda

Right now, this moment, is the time to celebrate by dancing beneath
the warmth of the sun.
--Gary Barnes

When we are doing our best to live as God would have us live, if we
are in harmony with God, we shall feel and be at peace.
--SweetyZee

Silence is the great revelation.
--Lao Tzu

"God answers all kneel-mail."
--Gary R.

Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.

Make a conscious effort to thank God today.
--Patricia Ferris

***********************************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SERVICE

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another."
Charles Dickens

As a drunk I thought that the world owed me a living. Everybody
existed for my employment and service; the world was waiting for my
telephone call! For years I manipulated people, and I was such a good
con artist they often left thanking me!

Today a part of my spiritual program requires service. I make the
coffee, put out the cookies, cook the meal and invite friends for
dinner. I make the telephone call, give the lectures, share in groups
and write articles. The life of service helps to keep me sober. I am
the message that I share. And I do it for me!

Thank you for making me aware of my need to give.

***********************************************************

It is
good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of
the LORD.
Lamentations 3:26

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust doth consume, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal.
Matthew 6:20***********************************************************

Daily Inspiration
Courage is not the lack of fear, but the ability to go on in spite of
it. Lord, may I be strong in my abilities and courageous in my beliefs.

In life it is those that persevere that will succeed. Lord, every day
is a fresh beginning. With You, I will come closer to my goals each day
if only I don't give up and quit.

***********************************************************

NA Just For Today

Acting Out

"We learn to experience feelings and
realize they can do us no harm unless we act on them."IP No. 16, "For the Newcomer"

Many of us came to Narcotics Anonymous
with something less than an overwhelming desire to stop using. Sure,
the drugs were causing us problems, and we wanted to be rid of the
problems, but we didn't want to stop getting high. Eventually, though,
we saw that we couldn't have one without the other Even though we
really wanted to get loaded, we didn't use; we weren't willing to pay
the price anymore. The longer we stayed clean and worked the program,
the more freedom we experienced. Sooner or later, the compulsion to use
was lifted from us completely, and we stayed clean because we wanted to
live clean.

The same principles apply to other
negative impulses that may plague us. We may feel like doing something
destructive, just because we want to. We've done it before, and
sometimes we think we've gotten away with it, but sometimes we haven't.
If we're not willing to pay the price for acting on such feelings, we
don't have to act on them.

It may be hard, maybe even as hard as
it was to stay clean in the beginning. But others have felt the same
way and have found the freedom not to act on their negative impulses.
By sharing about it and seeking the help of other recovering people and
a Power greater than ourselves, we can find the direction, the support,
and the strength we need to abstain from any destructive compulsion.

Just for today: It's okay to feel my
feelings. With the help of my sponsor, my NA friends, and my Higher
Power, I am free not to act out my negative feelings.

***********************************************************

You are reading from the book Today's
Gift.There are persons who have some parts
like me, but no one adds up exactly like me. --Virginia SatirMost of us feel pretty ordinary. We
probably wish we were taller or shorter. Some of us are fat rather than
thin. Few of us have perfect skin or teeth. Often we look at others,
compare ourselves, and wish we were different. At these times, it's
important to remember that each of us is special. We differ from others
because we're created for different purposes.Some of us will make a contribution to
the world of sports, some to the art of music. Teaching or medicine
will attract others and yet, no two of us will give to the world in the
same way. Our unique mixture of looks, attitudes, and abilities will be
special and very necessary to the people sharing our lifetime.How can I give my special gift to the
world today?

You are reading from the book
Touchstones.It is the greatest of all mistakes to
do nothing because you can only do a little. Do what you can. --Sydney
SmithWe are capable of far more than we
think. The task before us sometimes seems mountainous, but we don't
have to do it all in one day. We can do only a little, although we want
to accomplish the whole job at once. We must not let our desire for
complete change all at once discourage us from doing what we can. We
may need to look for a new job, or face the loneliness of ending a
hurtful relationship, or hold firmly to our wisest fathering role with
our children, or deal with an illness in ourselves or a loved one.We do not have to face the tasks that
challenge us by ourselves. We are all members of a large, quiet network
of spiritual support for each other. We have our Twelve Step program,
the loving strength of our Higher Power, and the companionship of other
men and women in our group. With help, we can do what must be done. We
only need to faithfully do a little at a time.Today, I will remember that I am not
alone. I have help in many forms, and I will do what I can.

You are reading from the book Each Day
a New Beginning.For is it not true that human progress
is but a mighty growing pattern woven together by the tenuous single
threads united in a common effort? --Soong Mei-ling (Madame Chiang
Kai-shek)We each are spinning our individual
threads, lending texture, color, pattern, to the "big design" that is
serving us all. Person by person our actions, our thoughts, our values
complement those of our sisters, those of the entire human race. We are
heading toward the same destination, all of us, and our paths run
parallel on occasion, intersect periodically, and veer off in
singleness of purpose when inspiration calls us.It's comforting to be reminded that
our lives are purposeful. What we are doing presently, our interactions
with other people, our goals, have an impact that is felt by many
others. We are interdependent. Our behavior is triggering important
thoughts and responses in someone else, consistently and methodically.
No one of us is without a contribution to make. Each one of us is
giving what we are called upon to give when we are in a right
relationship with God, who is the master artist in this design we are
creating.Prayer and meditation will direct my
efforts today. My purpose can then be fulfilled.

You are reading from the book The
Language of Letting Go.GivingLearning to be a healthy giver can be
a challenge. Many of us got caught up in compulsive giving - charitable
acts motivated by uncharitable feelings of guilt, shame, obligations,
pity, and moral superiority.We now understand that catering and
compulsive giving don't work. They backfire.Caretaking keeps us feeling victimized.Many of us gave too much, thinking we
were doing things right; then we became confused because our life and
relationships weren't working. Many of us gave so much for so long,
thinking we were doing Gods will; then in recovery, we refused to give,
care, or love for a time.That's okay. Perhaps we needed a rest.
But healthy giving is part of healthy living. The goal in recovery is
balance - caring that is motivated by a true desire to give, with an
underlying attitude of respect for others and ourselves.The goal in recovery is to choose what
we want to give, to whom, when, and how much. The goal in recovery is
to give, and not feel victimized by our giving.Are we giving because we want to,
because its our responsibility? Or are we giving because we feel
obligated, guilty, ashamed, or superior? Are we giving because we feel
afraid to say no?Are the ways we try to assist people
helpful, or do they prevent others from facing their true
responsibilities?Are we giving so that people will like
us or feel obligated to us? Are we giving to prove were worthy? Or are
we giving because we want to give and it feels right?Recovery includes a cycle of giving
and receiving. It keeps healthy energy flowing among our Higher Power,
others, and us. It takes time to learn how to give in healthy ways. It
takes time to learn to receive. Be patient. Balance will come.God, please guide my giving and my
motives today.

My heart is open to all that happens
in my life today. There is such joy in being alive and feeling
everything with a full and open heart. --Ruth Fishel

*******************************************

Journey To The Heart

Take Better Care of Yourself

Take better care of yourself than you
ever have before. That’s what your heart is telling you to do.

Those times of driving yourself,
depriving yourself, not being gentle and loving with yourself will no
longer work. Punishing, criticizing, repressing, and denying won’t
bring the feelings, the growth, the result you’re seeking. The harder
you push, the more you relentlessly demand perfection, the worse you’ll
feel.

Fall in love with yourself. Be gentle,
loving, kind, and attentive. Take time throughout each day to tend to
your needs, just as you would tend to someone you loved deeply and
dearly. Loving and caring for yourself this way won’t waste time. It’s
not a delay. Take better care of yourself, and life’s magic will
return. Your life will improve. You’ll feel better,too.

Taking care of yourself is a simple
act with profound consequences. The better and more often you care for
yourself, the more you’ll align with the universe and God’s love.

*******************************************

More Language Of Letting Go

You get to choose

Don’t forget that we get to choose.

I got my “A” license in skydiving. I
continued to jump. But I was procrasitnating on buying my own parachute
and gear. I used the rental gear, even though it didn’t fit my body
comfortably and I was throwing money down the drain. I used the rental
gear because the student parachutes were big.

A lot of sky divers start going for
the smallest possible canopy as soon as they get into the sport. That
didn’t work for me. As safe as I try to be and as much as I concentrate
on landing properly, I usually land on my behind.

The bigger the canopy over my head,
the better my behind feels when I land.

Whenever I discuss buying my own gear,
the other skydivers would start insisting that I had to buy a small
canopy, not to waste my money going big. So I put off the purchase,
wondering when I’d want to jump and land with a canopy that small.

One day Eddy, a sky diver with more
than ten thousand jumps and no injuries in the sport, pulled me aside.
He asked me if I had bought my equipment. I told him no. He asked why.
I told him because everybody had told me that when I bought my first
canopy, it should be smaller than the size I was comfortable jumping.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Order the
largest size you can. You’re the one jumping. You’re the one paying for
the gear. Don’t let other people convince you that you shouldn’t have
what you want. Do what’s right for you, and you’ll be in this sport for
a long time.”

I was comforted and surprised by his
words. How easy it is to let other people’s expectations control our
thoughts and actions. Sometimes we just need a little reminder that
it’s more than okay to choose what’s right for us– it’s what we’re
meant to do.

God, help me set myself free from the
limits that other people put on me.

*******************************************

Learned Self-RelianceThe Negative Effects of Spoiling
Children

Parents are moved by instinct to love,
nurture, and provide for their offspring. Because our children are so
much a part of us, we want to see them blissfully happy. Also, our own
desire to be liked, materialist pressures, and a fervent wish that our
children have everything we lacked as youngsters can prompt us to spoil
them. However, while it might seem that buying your child expensive
gifts will give them fond memories of childhood or that you can heal
your emotional wounds by doting on your sons and daughters, you may be
unconsciously interfering with your children’s evolutional development.
One of the most precious gifts you can grant your children is the true
independence they gain when they learn to earn what they covet and
become stewards of their own happiness. Try allowing your children to
experience life to the fullest. Let them work and earn what they want.
When the time comes for them to go to college and enter the workforce,
you will have the confidence that yo! u have raised a child that can
both enter and contribute to society confidently.

When children are not afforded the
opportunity to explore self-reliance, to understand that with
possession comes price, and to fulfill their own needs, they develop a
sense of entitlement that blinds them to the necessity of hard work and
the needs of others. We may spoil children because giving them gifts is
pleasurable. Or we may want to avoid conflict out of fear that our
children won’t love us. Yet children who are given acceptance, love,
and affection in abundance are often kinder, more charitable, and more
responsible than those whose parents accede to their every material
demand. They develop a strong sense of self that stretches beyond
possessions and the approval of their peers, and as adults they
understand that each individual is responsible for building the life
they desire. If you find yourself giving in to your child’s every whim,
ask yourself why. You may discover that you are trying to answer for
what you feel is lacking in your own life.

Rearing your children to respect the
value of money and self-sufficiency as they grow from infants to young
adults is a challenging but rewarding process. It can be difficult to
watch a child struggle to meet a personal goal yet wonderful to be by
their side as they achieve it. Your choice not to spoil your children
will bless you with more opportunities to show them understanding and
compassion and to be fully present with them as they journey toward
adulthood. Published with permission from Daily OM

*******************************************

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Faith is more than our greatest gift:
its sharing with others that our greatest responsibility. May we of The
Program continually seek the wisdom and the willingness by which we may
well fulfill the immense trust of which the Giver of all. Perfect gifts
has placed in our hands. If you pray, why worry? If you worry, why pray?

Today I Pray

Our God is a mighty fortress,m a
bulwark who never fails us. Many we praise Him for our deliverance and
for our protection. He gives us the right of faith to share. May we
pass it along to others as best we know how and in the loving spirit in
which He gave it to us.

Today I Will Remember

God will not fail us.

*******************************************

One More Day

The comforter’s head never aches. – Italian Proverb

Sometimes, people who undergo a family
crisis, such as the sudden death of a loved one, hold up commendably
during the most difficult times, only to collapse later. While none of
us can always stay calm, we rarely buckle when our strength is needed
by others.

We comfort our loved ones when they’re
angry, hurt, or disappointed. We comfort friends who have undergone
surgery or had other crises of their own. We sit by the bed of people
we love as they wait to die. Again and again, we prove we are strong.
Our experience in comforting others helps us recognize the strength of
our friends and family when they comfort us in our anger or
disappointment, in our sadness or illness.

I am proud I can give comfort and
strength to those who need it. I am grateful for those who comfort me.

*****************************************

One Day At A Time

~ Feelings ~

Few are those who see with their own
eyesand feel with their own hearts.Albert Einstein

Before working the Twelve Step
program, one reason I used to overeat was that I couldn't manage my
feelings. My feelings were overwhelming and incapacitating to me. I
would also overreact to feelings and this would make them truly more
than I could handle. So I would then overeat to make the feelings stop.
I would stuff myself, to stuff them down!

In working the Twelve Step program, I
got a chance to work through past hurts and resentments that
intensified my feelings. I learned to feel my feelings, just as they
are, and how to stop overreacting to them. I learned to sort through
messages my family gave me about feelings, that it's not okay to have
or feel or express them. I learned to decide what is true for me,
today, about feelings. I also worked through my codependency issues and
learned how to communicate feelings in an appropriate, effective and
loving way.

Now feelings are a part of my life and
not something overwhelming and incapacitating. In fact, they have
become something beautiful that enrich my life and give it color and
texture and even pleasure.

One Day at a Time . . .I honor the blessing of having my
feelings returned to me. I enjoy them, and I respect my feelings and
those of others. I thank my Higher Power for this wonderful gift. ~ Lynne ~

*****************************************

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

But it is clear that we made our own
misery. God didn't do it. Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of
misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an
opportunity to demonstrate His omnipotence. - Pg. 133 - The Family
Afterward

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

By witnessing the miracle of recovery
happening for others, we can come to believe that this miracle can
happen for us as well. Look at the miracles around you, 1 month off
drugs, 3 months, 6 months or years. You are surrounded by living
miracles.

Let me know that all the living
miracles around me once felt as desperate as I--and that I too am a
miracle every hour I stay away from that first fix, pill, drink, toke,
or snort.

Empowering My Own Day

There are no victims, only volunteers.
If there is something I don't like in the way things are going for me,
I will see what I can change. I can change the subject if someone goes
on and on about things that I don't want to talk about. I can change my
routines or change the way I get to where I am going, I can set
boundaries with my time if I am feeling over scheduled. My time and
what I do with it is precious to me, it is all I have to call my very
own. I won't throw it away and then blame someone else gobbling it up.
I have a right to protect the quiet and enjoyment of my day, to do more
of those things that give me pleasure and fewer of those things that
run me down. If I am living up to my responsibilities, that is enough.

I won't throw my time away with both
hands

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

One of the joys of this program is the
path it provides us with to do the right thing. Our steps don't give us
a whole lot of room for justifications. There is no right way to do the
wrong thing.

I learn to do the next right thing,
not the next 'me' thing.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Whenever you try to get even, you get
even worse.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

My heart is open to all that happens
in my life today. There is such joy in being alive and feeling
everything with a full and open heart.

'Sometimes we turn to God when our
foundations are shaking, only to find out it is God who is shaking
them.' -- Unknown

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I thought controlled drinking was; you
drink all you can and then try to control yourself. - Sean A.

*****************************************

AA Thought for the Day

April 9

PrayerWe finally did experiment, and when
unexpected results followed, we felt different;in fact, we knew different; and so we
were sold on meditation and prayer.And that, we have found, can happen to
anybody who tries.It has been well said that "almost the
only scoffers at prayer are those who never tried it enough."- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,
p. 97

Thought to Ponder . . .Trying to pray is praying.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .A S A P = Always Say A Prayer.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Vigilance"Now that we're in AA and sober,winning back the esteem of our friendsand business associates,we find that we still need toexercise special vigilance.As an insurance againstthe dangers of big-shot-ism,we can often check ourselves by
rememberingthat we are today sober only bythe grace of Godand that any success we may be havingis far more His success than ours."Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions, p. 92As Bill Sees It, p. 19

Thought to Consider . . ."Vigilance will always be the price of
survival."Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine,
November 1960.The Language of the Heart, p. 317

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*BUTBeing Unconvinced Totally

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

ODAATFrom "The Missing Link":"Exactly how was I supposed to not
drink if my girlfriend breaks up with me, or if my best friend dies, or
even through happy times like graduations,
weddings, and birthdays. They suggested I could just stay sober one day
at a time. They explained that it might be easier to
set my sights on the twenty-four hours in front of me and to take on
these other situations when and if they ever
arrived. I decided to give sobriety a try, one day at a time, and I've
done it that way ever since."2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition;
Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 286-87

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Success is more a state of heart and
mind than a sum total of material assets."February 2007"Change to Spare,"Emotional Sobriety II: The Next
Frontier

~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve
Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"In thinking about our day we may face
indecision. We may not beable to determine which course to
take. Here we ask God forinspiration, an intuitive thought or a
decision. We relax and takeit easy. We don't struggle. We are
often surprised how the rightanswers come after we have tried this
for a while."Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
Into Action, pg. 86

"Many doctors and psychiatrists agree
with our conclusions. One ofthese men, staff member of a
world-renowned hospital, recently madethis statement to some of us: 'What
you say about the generalhopelessness of the average
alcoholic's plight is, in my opinion,correct. As to two of you men, whose
stories I have heard, there is nodoubt in my mind that you were 100%
hopeless, apart from divinehelp. Had you offered yourselves as
patients at this hospital, I wouldnot have taken you, if I had been able
to avoid it. People like youare too heartbreaking. Though not a
religious person, I have profoundrespect for the spiritual approach in
such cases as yours. For mostcases, there is virtually no other
solution.'"~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
More About Alcoholism, pg. 43~

To those of us who have hitherto known
only excitement, depression, or anxiety – in other words, to all of us
– this newfound peace is a priceless gift.-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.
74

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

The 'Slipper' Needs Understanding'Slips can often be charged to
rebellion; some of us are more rebellious than others. Slips may be due
to the illusion that one can be 'cured' of alcoholism.
Slips can also be charged to carelessness and complacency. Many of us
fail to ride out these periods sober. Things
go fine for two or three years--then the member is seen no more. Some
of us suffer extreme guilt because of vices
or practices that we can't or won't let go of. Too little
self-forgiveness and too little prayer--well, this combination adds up
to slips.'Then some of us are far more
alcohol-damaged than others. Still others encounter a series of
calamities and cannot seem to find the spiritual resources
to meet them. There are those of us who are physically ill. Others are
subject to more or less continuous exhaustion,
anxiety, and depression. These conditions often play a part in
slips--sometimes they are utterly controlling.' TALK,
1960

Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, know with all thy heart that I
love you and thank you for each day. Grant me mercy and forgive me when
I am wrong.

Ask
and you shall receive,Seek and ye shall find,Knock and it shall be opened unto you.Matthew 7:7

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